The Microbiome in Prenatal and Neonatal Life

The Microbiome in Prenatal and Neonatal Life explores the critical role of maternal and neonatal microbiomes in shaping lifelong health. Challenging the traditional view that newborns emerge from sterile environments, this book highlights how in-utero colonization and early postnatal microbial acquisition influence immunity, metabolism, and disease risk. Integrating advances in multi-omic analyses and systems biology, it demonstrates how environmental factors, mode of delivery, and feeding practices shape the developing microbiome, with epigenetic and immunologic changes that may affect both the individual and future generations.

Key Features:

• Examines the critical early-life window where microbial, immunologic, and epigenetic influences affect lifelong health.
• Explains maternal-fetal microbial exposure and the impact of microbial products from the mother.
• Discusses factors influencing neonatal microbiome development, including birth mode, feeding type, and environment.
• Highlights implications for immune and tissue maturation, and susceptibility to immune-mediated and other diseases.
• Integrates cutting-edge research in multi-omics and systems biology to inform clinical care and scientific understanding.